My WWE 205 Live Overview (December 5, 2017)

Episode #54

San Diego, CA

Valley View Casino Center

From: WWE Network

Commentary: Vic Joseph & Corey Graves

Enzo Amore isn't on this show. Man, they did one hell of a job making this guy from being a charismatic, fan favorite character to an annoying get-off-my-screen character. Imagine if whoever was in charge of your favorite TV show had behind the scenes issues with a cast member and decided to make the cast member's on-screen character as unbearable as possible. What does that achieve? A Poochy situation? I know wrestling is different since a heel character has to have heat but there's "heat heat" and there's "ugh, what else is on" heat.

Opening Segment

with Drew Gulak

This guy is a national treasure. Unfortunately and as per usual his Powerpoint presentation is cut off before it even begins and by Cedric Alexander. What would you rather see, Cedric Alexander or a Powerpoint presentation? They really need to add more to the characters of a lot of these guys. I feel like the cruiserweight babyfaces don't have much in the way of a character with more than the one note of being a high flyer. Who really is Cedric Alexander and what makes him tick? As for Noam, he has a small little something with the whole "Alicia Faaaaaaaawwwwwxxxx" thing but now he's simply "the little boy on the 'Zo Train". Listen to how he's referred to in this episode.

Match #1

Drew Gulak is on commentary

Normal Match

Cedric Alexander vs Noam Dar

Noam looks like he's got victory in his sights when he heads to the top rope to finish Cedric off when Gulak yells at Dar to get off the top rope which ends up allowing Cedric to hit the Lumbar Check for the win.

Winner by pinfall: Cedric Alexander (Lumbar Check)

My Take: A fine match that you'd see on Main Event on any given week.

Backstage Segment

Rich Swann, Mustafa Ali and Akira Tozawa are all excited about the recently announced 205 Live Tour that's coming to my neck of the woods. If they're given the green light to perform without all of the agenting at these shows then they really could be great shows. But if that's truly the case, you wouldn't know it from watching this show. They did a better job in the Fatal 4-Way match on RAW last night.

Interview

w/Rich Swann

Swann's charisma is undeniable and he's almost one of those guys that shine no matter what role he's put in.

Match #2

Normal Match

Gran Metalik vs The Brian Kendrick (w/Gentleman Jack Gallagher)

Gallagher is doing a great job in his heel role but I feel as though that buzz that he got from turning has wore off a little bit. And I'm not just saying that because I really miss his babyface character. There's a section of friends that I have that are all casual fans at best and this heel character does nothing for them but whenever Gallagher came out with that umbrella in hand, they were all into it. The apex being Jack's diving umbrella spot in the Royal Rumble last year. Everybody leaped out of their chairs when that went down.

Not much to say here. I really enjoy the evolution in Kendrick's character from the high-flying hooligan to the Shawn Michaels-esque character that unofficially won the WWE Championship in 2008 to the ruthless character of today. Gran Metalik on the other hand, went from being one of the best wrestlers in the world to just another guy in the cruiserweight division. Much like Andrade "Cien" Almas (aka La Sombra), Metalik has had some awesome matches. Namely in NJPW. He is definitely one guy that they need to unleash in the ring.

Winner by submission: The Brian Kendrick (Captain's Hook)

Backstage Segment

Drew Gulak (The national treasure) likens the 'Zo Train to the Justice League. Gulak is Batman (duh), Nese is Aquaman simply because of the beard, Noam is The Flash for his speed (I guess he's the fastest cruiserweight) and Daivari is Wonder Woman. Now WWE in the past has always resorted to lame "haha, you're gay" type of jokes but Gulak does a wonderful job avoiding this trope by telling Daivari that this is the highest compliment since Wonder Woman is a fierce warrior and has a great sense of fashion (Breezango will be the judges of that!). 

Vignette

Featuring the upcoming debut of Hideo Itami

My Take: I can't help but feeling like Itami on 205 Live is the next chapter in the book entitled "Aw Man, This Guy is Definitely Headed Back to Japan When His Contract Runs Out". Not the catchiest of titles but the feeling remains. When KENTA/Hideo came to NXT there was a buzz around him much like that surrounding his NXT peers like Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura. However, injuries would go on to do one hell of a job cooling off a lot of Itami's buzz. A heel turn and great matches with Kassius Ohno and Aleister Black were a step in the right direction but I feel as though Itami hasn't been on that buzz level of when he first arrived. Is Itami going to be a game changer for 205 Live? If he's allowed to have the matches that he has the ability to put on then there is certainly a chance but if tonight's episode as well as Shinsuke Nakamura's current run is any indication, Itami will be just another guy in no time. When it comes to everybody on the roster, it's either the WWE style or the highway, bub.

Match #3

Normal Match

Rich Swann (w/Cedric Alexander) vs Tony Nese (w/Drew Gulak)

Winner by pinfall: Rich Swann (Phoenix Splash)

My Take: Like I've been saying, this was a fine WWE style of match. But if you want a true DIVEESHUN ('Division' said in Broken Matt Hardy-speak) then the style of your cruiserweight guys must differentiate themselves from the normal WWE heavyweight style. I know the company is only trying to avoid injuries under their watch but there has to be some happy medium or some form of moderation.

Closing Thoughts

This show feels more like a Main Event/Superstars/Sunday Night Heat/Velocity than a RAW or a SmackDown Live or even an NXT. When each of those shows first premiered there was a lot going on in them (more than nowadays at least) but once the shine wore off of the new toy, Vince seemingly stopped caring. That seems to be 205 Live's current fate which is questionable because of the recently announced northeast house show run. Maybe it's their way to confirm on paper that this thing has been kind of a dud. By the way...Velocity? Now THERE'S a name for a cruiserweight show! Although the name probably wouldn't match the content that much. Oi

Dark Match

WWE Championship Match

AJ Styles (c) vs Jinder Mahal

Winner and STILL WWE Champion: AJ Styles